Cam type disc cylinder lock



Dec. 2 2, 1970 J. M. GENAKIS CAM TYPE DISC CYLINDER LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Jan. 6, 1969 mvEN-ro JOSEPH. M. GENAKvs Dec. 22,1970 J GENAKls3,548,620

CAM TYPE DISC CYLINDER LOCK Filed Jan. 6, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

United States Patent O 3,548,620 CAM TYPE DISC CYLINDER LOCK Joseph M.Genakis, 948 W. Boylston St., Worcester, Mass. 01605 Filed Jan. 6, 1969,Ser. No. 789,316 Int. Cl. Eb 27/08 US. Cl. 70-364 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A cam type of disc lock comprising a series of keymovable camshoes, in combination with a like series of oval cam members, the keypressing the shoes into engagement with internal cam surfaces on the camovals. Setting discs having notches on the peripheries thereof areattached to the cam ovals and the discs are thus aligned, with theproper key, and provide a common receptacle for a pivoted selector sothat when this selector is accepted, a locking engagement is made withrespect to a transmission device for a bolt or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the prior art there have been many kindsof locks designed particularly with respect to making it difficult topick. The present invention by the construction thereof makes the lockalmost impossible to pick, as the locking action is not dependent uponthe turning of any locked parts, except in one particular association ofseveral separate setting discs which is almost impossible to do nomatter what picks are used for this purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this invention, the lock parts are housedwithin a cylinder which can be applied to a mortise assembly or to theshell of a knob and in other ways and it has at its forward end a platehaving a rotary plug therein with a slot for accepting a key. In theplug there are a series of independently movable shoes which areactuated by the wards of the key, the key translating motion to theshoes to make contact with the cam surfaces of a series of cam ovals,there being one of these cam surfaces for each shoe. When the keyproperly translates the shoes with respect to the cam surfaces, the camovals are relatively turned as the key plug turns under influence of thekey, and this in turn rotates a series of setting discs, attached to thecam ovals each of which is provided with a series of shallow and one ormore deep notches in its edges. The deep notches must align prior tooperation of the lock.

Once the notches in the setting discs have been aligned, a pivotedselector is forced by means of a transmission into the combined alignednotches, and this action causes a dog on the transmission to move into arecess in the plug. Unless the notches are thus aligned, the selectorwill not push the dog to lock the plug and transmission together.

Reverse rotation of the key then causes the now latched transmission toe.g. thrust a bolt home, or to operate a ratchet, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective viewshowing the parts of the lock;

FIG. 2 is a view in elevation illustrating a cam oval;

FIG. 3 is a sectional perspective view through the housing for the lock;

FIG. 4 illustrates the locking dog on the transmission device in lockingposition;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view on an enlarged scale illustrating theequalizer assembly for the transmission device;

FIG. 6 illustrates an attachment for the lock;

FIG. 7 is a section through the lock;

FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are views illustrating the action of thetransmission device, the keyway, and the dog lock for the transmissionand the plug; parts being omitted;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the retaining lock ring assembly;

FIG. 13 is a front view of a lock ring and cam oval; I FIG. 14 is anenlarged section through the plug showing a cam;

FIG. 15 is a front view of a lock ring, looking in the direction ofarrow 15, FIG. 12, and

FIG. 16 is a view in side elevation of the lock ring assembly of FIG.12.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT. OF THE INVENTION A cylinder 10 is provided tohouse the locking parts, this cylinder being generally hollow and beingprovided with a forward plate 10a, FIG. 3, to accept and carry a plug12, this plug being rotated by means of the key and having an end to endkey slot for this purpose.

The housing 10 is provided with a pair of slots at 14 for the receptionof cars 16, 16 on a series of retarding assembly (or retaining lockring) generally indicated at 18, the parts being held together by meansof conventional snap rings or the like, see FIG. 15.

Each retarder assembly 18 is provided with a central opening 20 whichreceives the plug 12 surrounded by a floor 22 and a flange 24, for thereception of a cam oval 26 which has the cam surface as at 28 therein.

For each cam oval there is in the plug a guide member 30, a ball 32which may be in the nature of a ball-bearing, and a cam shoe 34associated with the plug, there being a series of assemblies of thisnature arranged on the plug. The ball may be pinched into the shoe. Theshoe 34 has an arcuate surface at 36 which is adapted to bear againstthe cam 28 when the respective ball is elevated by means of the key.Each cam oval is provided with a setting disc 40, these setting discseach being provided with various shallow notches 42, etc., which may beof various widths, etc., and a deep notch 43.

It is to be understood that there are as many of these assemblies as maybe desired, and that the more setting discs there are, the greater thepossible number of permutations which may be made with the lock. It isconservatively estimated that the number of possible settings availableby using setting discs with varying notches and using a varied number ofsetting discs, etc., goes into the millions.

In general it will be seen that when the correct key is inserted in thelock, the various wards thereof Will contact various but respectiveballs 32, raising the same and thrusting the shoes 34 into contact withthe cam surfaces at 28 so that when the key is turned the cam ovals 26and the setting discs 40 will also be turned but to varying degrees,depending upon the point of shoe contact on the internal cam surfaces.This degree of turn depends upon the use of the correct key which whenturned sufficiently will align the correct notches 43 in the varioussetting discs. In order to clarify the disclosure there is only a singlesetting disc and cam oval shown in FIG. 1, but there may be as many ofthese as desired and in FIGS. 7, 12 and 16 there is shown a series offive. The interior notch 40a is provided for assembly purposes.

In any event, when the key has been turned a sufficient degree and thevarious setting discs have been turned their respective distances, withthe correct key the correct notches 43 will be aligned.

There is a rod-like device which may be termed a selector 44. This has aradial latch 46 on it and an underlying longitudinal member 48 of lessradial extent. Normally latch 46 will ride in a trailing manner on thesurface of the transmission 60, but when the correct notches 43 arealigned to accept longitudinal member 48, the selector is fixed inposition relative thereto. The selector 44 is located in a recess 50 inthe housing made for the purpose, and held therein at its ends.

At the end of the series of setting discs 40 there is a locking disc 51having a groove 52 and spring type retainer 53, the latter having analigning ear 54 which may be received in a notch at 56 to hold the samefrom turning, and mounted on the plug after the locking and retainingdisc 51 is the transmission element generally indicated at 60.

This transmission 60 is perhaps best shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 8 to 11. Ithas a pivoted dog 62 yieldingly held in either of two positions by meansof a spring detent 64a acting on notches in one end 64 thereof, FIG. 4,the other end having a downturned portion 63. The end 64 is forengagement in one groove or the other, 68, 71 in the plug 12, for thepurpose of locking the transmission 60 with respect to the plug. Thegrooves 68 and 71 are alike but for individual use for right or lefthand motion of the lock operation or cycle. The lock is completelyreversible.

This action is accomplished by means of the latch member 46 on selector44, which is forced into notch 59, it engages the inner end of the dog62 as is shown in FIG. 10, forcing the end 63 outwardly and the otherend inwardly into engagement with for instance the notch 68 in the plug12, see FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the member 46 engages both sides ofnotch 59, and further rotation in this direction of the key is stoppedas well as motion of selector 44, which contacts a dog element 70 ontransmission 60.

With the plug and the transmission member locked together in thismanner, the transmission can thus be used to slide a bolt, ratchet, orsome other locking means, not shown, in a specified direction thateither locks it or unlocks it, depending on the subsequent motion of thekey. Slot 71 in plug 12, FIG. 1, is used to receive the end 64 of dog 62when the lock parts are reversed.

There is a spring-pressed equalizer pin 74 having a projection 76 in thetransmission member and this is actuated by a dog 78 on a plate 80 atthe extreme end of the entire assembly. This is for the purpose ofturning the transmission member 60 by means of the plug for instancewhen the dog 62 is retracted as in FIG. 9, the plate 80 being securedwith respect to the plug 12.

Upon prime rotation of the plug 12 in either locking or unlockingaction, a cancelling mechanism 82 is set to protruding relation to forcethe end 63 of the dog 62 in a direction to withdraw the toe thereof fromengagement with the plug, thereby releasing the latter from thetransmission 60.

The retarder cars 16 contain spring detents and 17. Thus this elementacts as a detent when one of them is in contact with shoulder 19 and asa brake during the remainder of the cycle. One ear also acts as apositive stop for the entire cam when the plug is being returned to itsoriginal position, see FIG. 12.

The plug has a pin tumbler mechanism at 90 and 90a which insures thereturn of the transmission to original or starting position. The keycannot be extracted unless returned to its original position.

One feature is the reversibility of this lock. The parts can be reversedin direction for either left or right-hand use of the key, by reversingthe cams, see FIG. 14, where the guide is shown solid and dotted. Theselector in its present position however is used both for right orleft-hand motion.

About three quarters of the disc surface is used for indentation for theselector and in about the last twenty percent of motion of the openingcycle of the lock, no additional settings are permitted as the entiredisc assembly must travel in unison to receive the selector.

The novel lock can be keyed for individual or master key combinations.When changing the key, the discs are replaced.

Nearly one full revolution of the plug is needed to set the dog of thetransmission into the plug, and a reverse movement is then used toactuate the transmission for further contact with opening devices,ratchet, etc. If the dog in the transmission is not set into the plug,the reverse movement will not actuate the transmission for its intendedfunction.

A pin tumbler assembly is used to insure the return of the plug to itsstarting position. This is necessary in conjunction with the cancellingout feature of the dog in the transmission when commencing a new cycle,assuming the correct key was used in opening and closing cycles.

I claim:

1. A cam type disc cylinder lock comprising a housing, a selectormounted internally with respect to said housing, a key plug mounted insaid housing for reception of and turning by a key, a series of camovals on the plug, a cam surface on each oval, a setting disc for eachcam oval also mounted on the plug, each setting disc being provided witha series of notches in the periphery thereof, a movable cam shoe foreach cam oval for selective impingement on the cam surface thereof. thekey being arranged to engage and move the cam shoes into engagement withthe cam surfaces on the individual cam ovals for turning the latter andthe discs for alignment of certain of said notches on said discs,

a transmission, said transmission being mounted to turn on said plug,and means providing for interengagement between the transmission and theplug, said transmission having a notch receiving the operative member ofthe selector only when the notches on said setting discs are correctlyaligned, whereby the transmission may then be turned by means of theplug under influence of the key, and means on said transmission formoving a member for locking and unlocking under influence of the key.

2. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein the interengagingmeans comprises a dog pivoted on the transmission.

3. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein the interengagingmeans comprises a dog pivoted on the transmission and having a portionengageable by the opertive member of said selector for forcing the doginto engagement with the plug when the selector operative member isreceived in the notch in the transmission.

4. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein the interengagingmeans comprises a dog pivoted on the transmission and having a portionengageable by the operative member of said selector for forcing the doginto engagement with the plug when the selector operative member isreceived in the notch in the transmission, and a cancelling mechanismfor retracting the dog from the plug upon a certain predeterminedmanipulation of the key.

5. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein the interengagingmeans comprises a dog pivoted on the transmission and having a portionengageable by the operative member of said selector for forcing the doginto engagement with the plug when the selector operative member isreceived in the notch in the transmission, and a cancelling mechanismfor retracting the dog from the plug upon a certain predeterminedmanipulation of the key, said cancelling mechanism being mounted betweenthe transmission and the nearest adjacent disc.

6. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein the interengagingmeans comprises a dog pivoted on the transmission and having a portionengageable by the operative member of said selector for forcing the doginto engagement with the plug when the selector operative member isreceived in the notch in the transmission, and a cancelling mechanismfor retracting the dog from the plug upon a certain predeterminedmanipulation of the key, said cancelling mechanism being mounted betweenthe transmission and the nearest adjacent disc, and means to activateand deactivate the cancelling mechanism at certain points in the turningof the key through a complete cycle.

7. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 including a retarder ringmounted on said plug, said retarder ring having a peripheral flange forthe reception of a cam oval, there being a retarder ring for each camoval, and means on the flange for engaging certain portions of theperiphery of the cam ovals for retarding the rotary motion thereof.

8. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein said selectorcomprises an elongated element having a limited rotary motion on itsaxis.

9. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein said selectorcomprises an elongated element having a limited rotary motion on itsaxis, the selector portion and the selector member being fixed to theelongated selector element in radially arranged position.

10. The cam type disc cylinder lock of claim 1 wherein each cam shoe isradially movable relative to the plug under influence of the key andeach shoe includes a ball mounted thereon for engagement by the wards ofthe key.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MARVIN A. CHAMPION, PrimaryExaminer R. L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

